TODAY’s Timeout is full of mystery as we have no captions to indicate where any of these archived photographs were taken or who is featured in them.

Since the first national postal service was founded in the UK in 1653, the country has gone through an industrial revolution as well as a technological revolution, with the postal service constantly evolving.

In February 1512, Brian Tuke was appointed as the first master of the posts under a young King Henry VIII.

It was in July 1653 that the first public postal service was introduced by Charles I.

Letters were carried between posts by post-boys on horseback. Later that year, six post roads were created.

The earliest public post offices were usually housed at inns and were known as letter receiving houses.

The first scheduled air mail service from Hendon to Windsor began as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of King George V in 1911.

Motorcycles were later adopted by telegraph messengers, but only messengers over 17 who had their parents’ consent and a declaration of fitness from a doctor were allowed to ride them.

In 1934, the first experimental flight carrying mail by rocket was made over the Downs in Sussex.

Postcodes were introduced in the 1950s to make the service function more efficiently, allowing it to expand considerably.

In 1985, the last cat used by the Post Office died.

Royal Mail Parcels was rebranded as Parcelforce in 1990.

In the early 2000s the company rebranded as Consignia, before changing back to Parcelforce within a year.

  • Can you tell The Argus where any of these images may have been taken or when? If you recognise anyone pictured above, please get in touch.